After a recent trip to China I became a gong-fu convert. Now that I
own a teatable, a couple of gaiwans and Yixing pots, and other
peraphenalia, I'm looking to buy an electric teapot.
After conducting massive reasearch online, I've narrowed my choices to
three options: a newer Kamjove from birdpick, an old-style Kamjove
from Imperial tea, or a variable temp Breville.
I should mention that for my gong fu sessions I drink mostly heavily
oxidized oolongs (Dang Congs and WuYi), and plan to plunge into puerhs
some time soon. I like the style of Kamjoves, however, we do drink
quite a lot of green and black teas during the day. Hence the desire
for variable temp.
Please share your suggestions and/or recommendations.

teashionista > writes:

> After a recent trip to China I became a gong-fu convert. Now that I
> own a teatable, a couple of gaiwans and Yixing pots, and other
> peraphenalia, I'm looking to buy an electric teapot.
> After conducting massive reasearch online, I've narrowed my choices to
> three options: a newer Kamjove from birdpick, an old-style Kamjove
> from Imperial tea, or a variable temp Breville.
> I should mention that for my gong fu sessions I drink mostly heavily
> oxidized oolongs (Dang Congs and WuYi), and plan to plunge into puerhs
> some time soon. I like the style of Kamjoves, however, we do drink
> quite a lot of green and black teas during the day. Hence the desire
> for variable temp.
> Please share your suggestions and/or recommendations.

We had a quite informative thread on electric tea kettles within the
last month. Why not read it and then, if you still have questions,
ask away?

Oh, and welcome!

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

On 2009-02-26, teashionista > wrote:

> After a recent trip to China I became a gong-fu convert. Now that I
> own a teatable, a couple of gaiwans and Yixing pots, and other
> peraphenalia, I'm looking to buy an electric teapot.
> After conducting massive reasearch online, I've narrowed my choices to
> three options: a newer Kamjove from birdpick, an old-style Kamjove
> from Imperial tea, or a variable temp Breville.

FWIW, those (the ones that ITC and Ten Ren carry) aren't made by
Kamjove, though it's a similar style to the old Kamjoves (I think made
in China for the Taiwanese 110V market). If you have a Ten Ren near you,
you might be able to get the same one for a slightly lower price than it
goes for online or at ITC.

If you haven't already checked, take a look at these three threads.
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=5277
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=7587
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=8138

The newer Kamjove (non-induction) metal kettles are decent too; some of
them boil slowly and / or have a really small handle, so be careful. I
like the TP-680 pretty well if you can find it anywhere - should be
around $30, 800W, so more powerful (and slightly faster to boil) than
the first one you mentioned by a little bit. I don't think they're quite
as durable, though. I have one that's been in daily use for probably at
least a year / year and a half, but my friend who had a few at her shop
had some problems with them.

[See my notes in other threads, both on here, and on teachat, about the
weird gunk that sometimes is in the spouts of these kettles when you
first get them]

With the newer style electric kettles, the main thing to worry about is
whether they feel balanced in the hand and whether you have good control
of the pour.

> I like the style of Kamjoves, however, we do drink quite a lot of
> green and black teas during the day. Hence the desire for variable
> temp.

Black tea should be full boil anyway. Admittedly, I don't drink a lot of
green tea, but adjustable temperature is overrated IMO. Either bring to
a full boil and let it cool down, or shut it off manually when it gets
about to the temperature you want. Most good tea should be able to take
full boiling water regardless of type, and there are some other tricks
you can do (in terms of where you pour and from what height) that can
cool down the water as well.

w

> We had a quite informative thread on electric tea kettles within the
> last month. *Why not read it and then, if you still have questions,
> ask away?
>
> Oh, and welcome!
>

Lew,
Thanks for the tip! I did read threads here and on other forums
(including TeaChat and Chowhound) on this topic. I just couldn't find
any reviews/recs for Breville's new model =( the quest continues...

>
> We had a quite informative thread on electric tea kettles within the
> last month. *Why not read it and then, if you still have questions,
> ask away?
>
> Oh, and welcome!
>

Lewis,

Thanks for the tip and your time! I did read discussions on tea
kettles on this forum, as well as TeaChat and Chowhound. I just could
not find any pros/cons for Breville. Given that I'm going to be using
it for gung fu (which requires quite agile manipulation of a kettle),
I was curious to see if anyone would have any comments...
The search continues
> Lew Perin /

Will,
Thanks for your informative post! I did read your comments on TeaChat,
and that's what got me thinking about an older-style Kamjove to begin
with =)
It looks like Kamjove's induction model is the answer to my problem
(variable temp AND a nice pour), but I'm concerned about its
footprint. On the other hand, Breville's 1.7l model might be too heavy
to manipulate with my small-ish hands... I'll be in SF some time in
the next month or so, so will stop by a Ten Ren shop in Chinatown and
take a look at their model.

t

Im a gongfu master we will have to wait till my variable electric
digital kettle settles in at the right temperature plus or minus a
degree. What temperature did you use over an open flame. Oh I see
you used a graduated stand over the flame. Would that be the same in
cold or hot weather. Of course not. I drink fresh river water and
get sick. I happen to notice I get sick less often the hotter I make
my tea. The best temperature for not getting sick boiling. Of
course. Now I am a gongfu master. When people say there is a proper
temperature for making a tea I put on my Nietzsche hat and ask them is
that any different than the tasting temperature.

Jim

PS Luckily health codes require a washer using minimum 200F
temperature and detergent. Otherwise gongfu masters wouldnt be doing
business in this country.

On Feb 26, 5:08 pm, Will Yardley >
wrote:
....gongfu guessing...
> Black tea should be full boil anyway. Admittedly, I don't drink a lot of
> green tea, but adjustable temperature is overrated IMO. Either bring to
> a full boil and let it cool down, or shut it off manually when it gets
> about to the temperature you want. Most good tea should be able to take
> full boiling water regardless of type, and there are some other tricks
> you can do (in terms of where you pour and from what height) that can
> cool down the water as well.
>
> w

On Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:49:07 -0800 (PST), teashionista
> wrote:

>After a recent trip to China I became a gong-fu convert. Now that I
>own a teatable, a couple of gaiwans and Yixing pots, and other
>peraphenalia, I'm looking to buy an electric teapot.
>After conducting massive reasearch online, I've narrowed my choices to
>three options: a newer Kamjove from birdpick, an old-style Kamjove
>from Imperial tea, or a variable temp Breville.
>I should mention that for my gong fu sessions I drink mostly heavily
>oxidized oolongs (Dang Congs and WuYi), and plan to plunge into puerhs
>some time soon. I like the style of Kamjoves, however, we do drink
>quite a lot of green and black teas during the day. Hence the desire
>for variable temp.
>Please share your suggestions and/or recommendations.

If you are considering the Breville, you may want to also consider the
Pino. It's variable from 104-212 degrees and about half the price:

http://www.amazon.com/PINO-ST-8706-D.../dp/B001HC54O2